Hart hits 2 HRs, drives in 6 in Brewers win

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MILWAUKEE(AP) -- Corey Hart no longer comes into the clubhouse
anxiously looking at the lineup card to see if he's playing. On
a team with sluggers such as Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun, Hart
is currently the Brewers' best bopper.

Hart hit a grand slam and a two-run homer in his first two times
up to lift the Milwaukee Brewers to an 8-6 victory over the New
York Mets on Saturday night.

"Hopefully I can stay comfortable and keep producing," Hart
said. "For us, we've been up and down and we've tried to
solidify the consistency in the lineup. I think that just helps
to take pressure of those guys if I can stay on good pace."

Hart's homers in the first and third gave him 12 for the season,
tying his total from last year, and three in three consecutive
plate appearances. He belted the first game-winning homer of his
career Friday night to snap New York's five-game winning streak
and 35-inning shutout streak.

Ike Davis hit a three-run shot for New York, but the Mets
dropped to 6-16 away from Citi Field with a 3-12 mark in this
month.

"I still see some fight in the team. I see us coming back in
games, scoring in different frames and having opportunities. I
still see a lot of positives happening on the road," Mets
manager Jerry Manuel said. "We just can't seem to get over the
hump. I think we will."

All 14 runs were scored in the first four innings, but Todd
Coffey (2-1) came in for Milwaukee with the bases loaded in the
fifth. He went on to retire seven straight batters after being
forced to use a different glove from his light tan version for
the first time in his six-year career.

Manuel said he told the umpires about his concerns with the
glove.

"I'll get a clarification on the rules," said Coffey, who wore a
backup black glove. "Let's be honest, all I do is catch it back
from the catcher."

Carlos Villanueva pitched a perfect eighth and John Axford - not
all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman - pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for
his second save. The three relievers combined to retire the last
13 batters.

"It's a tough situation to be in," Axford said. "I don't hold a
flame to Trevor Hoffman. I'm not thinking about that, really.
I'm just trying to get my job done."

Brewers manager Ken Macha said Axford's performances have made
it hard not to keep him in the ninth-inning role.

"I'm not eliminating Trevor," Macha said. "I want to give him a
few more innings, but it'll be nice if we have coverage like
that."

George Kottaras also went deep for the Brewers, who have won
four of their last five at home after a 4-14 start at Miller
Park.

Hart temporarily lost his starting job to begin the season. He
heard plenty of boos early, but that's long forgotten now after
nine homers and 19 RBIs in his last 14 games.

"I've had some critics out there, but it's nice from not playing
every day to being in there and producing," Hart said. "It was a
rough start because I was trying to win them back."

Hart's 12 homers are just three less than the combined total of
15 by All-Stars Fielder (seven) and Braun (eight).

Mets starter Fernando Nieve (1-3) got two outs to start the
first before loading the bases on Braun's double and two walks.
Hart hit a breaking ball that didn't move much over the Brewers
bullpen on nearly the same path of his Friday night homer for
his first grand slam.

"I had some concerns but I felt that he deserved an opportunity
to start," Manuel said of Nieve's first start this season while
the Mets deal with injuries to their starting rotation.

Kottaras added his solo shot in the second and Hart came out for
a curtain call after his two-run homer off Oliver Perez in the
third made it 7-3. Davis answered the next inning against
reliever Marco Estrada to make it 7-6, but Rickie Weeks tripled
to start the fourth and scored on a double-play grounder by
Braun.

A night after Johan Santana and Yovani Gallardo shut down
hitters until the bottom of the ninth, the hitters got their
revenge against spot starters.

Nieve lasted two innings in his first start of the season,
giving up five runs and Perez allowed three. Brewers starter
Manny Parra gave up three runs in three innings and Estrada was
tagged for three more.

"I wasn't sharp enough," Nieve said. "I was behind too many
people."

NOTES: Mets LHP Jonathon Niese (right hamstring) threw 35
pitches in a Saturday bullpen session and will start in Triple-A
Buffalo on Monday. ... Both teams wore Negro League throwback
uniforms representing the Milwaukee Bears (1923) and the New
York Cubans (1935-36, 1939-50). ... The Brewers purchased the
contract of LHP Chris Capuano and designated RHP Claudio Vargas
for assignment.

NLAT MILWAUKEE - SCORING UPDATESOLO HOME RUN BY GEORGE KOTTARAS (4) TO RIGHT CENTER WITH 2OUT IN THE 2ND OFF FERNANDO NIEVE.CURRENT SCORE: NY METS 2, MILWAUKEE 5DUE UP FOR MILWAUKEE: R BRAUN (.324, 1-FOR-1)